Terumah

Last Shabbos, I was up early and saying brachos at home. I suddenly heard an explosion-like thump. Enough to make me stop and wonder what just happened. Turns out an F-16 went down around that time.

Now, all week, we’re hearing low-flying F-16s.

Pretty cool.

As long as it stays cool J

“…from every man whose heart will motivate him you shall take My portion” (Shemos 25:2).

My wife knows a Rebbetzin who's gone through . . . quite a bit. She was born and raised in Israel, has been through several wars, including being behind Syrian lines during one of them, and is one of those people who stories always happen to.

She recently said in a class that when she was younger and living in the Golan Heights, they had an old woman as a neighbor. She wasn’t religious, but very Zionistic. She would often sit on the front porch of this neighbor and hear her stories and talk with her. One of the things the woman would always say is how she’s a proud Zionist and those who call themselves Zionists, but live outside of Israel, are nothing but fakers.

Just recently, this woman passed away at the age of 102. The Rebbetzin felt that she should go to the funeral, and headed north to attend. She was in for a shock when she got there and found the funeral was full of former Prime Ministers and heads of Mossad and Army Intelligence (of course she knows who they are . . . the army sends her to "hot zones" to help calm down civilians). She was obviously trying to figure out why so many big shots were there. It turned out that this old woman was some big time Mossad agent, back in the day.

She said to her class that she never likes hearing from secular Jews, “I have a Jewish heart,” or “I have a Jewish soul,” as if that’s all there is to being Jewish. It’s not, and it’s only a “cop-out” from actually having to do mitzvos. We don’t just have “Jewish hearts.” Being Jewish means . . . BEING Jewish . . . LIVING as a Jew.

She explained that when a Jew works on internal values, in the end, there will always be action involved. If, for example, a person is working on faith in Hashem, in the end, they might have better davening or feel more calmer in troubled times, etc.

This woman believed in Zionism. It was something that was extremely important to her. To the point that if you believe something, you need to act on it. And she did. She moved here from outside of Israel and lived her life here. And why did she scorn “Zionists” living abroad? Because she understood that if you BELIEVE something, you should ACT on it.

But it goes even deeper.

Older people tend to ramble on about stories (especially glorious ones) about their past. Yet, not once did this woman give any hint to her “secret identity.” She truly believed in her beliefs, and THAT led to action, by keeping quiet after so many years.

When a Jew has a “Jewish heart,” that means there will be action to follow.

Every year, or twice a year, there are different “in” things in the boys and girls school.

Last year for the boys was some weird game with a ball and stick. The year before, “Rebbe cards.” This year is: Rubik's Cube. You’re simply not a boy if you don’t have it.

So, we bought Mr. Seven-Year-Old a cheap one, which shortly broke. We then bought another one, which broke even quicker. So, my wife began the hunt for the Official Rubik's Cube, which is better built. Store after store, she searched high and low. At two stores, the women behind the counter yelled, “What is it with you Chareidim and the Rubik's Cube! You’re the tenth person to come in just today!”

There are many midrashim on commentaries on the first words of this pasuk, Vayikchu li, “take from me.” One Midrash notes that it can be read, “Take Me . . .” and explains that when somebody sells a product, he sells the product and that’s it. For example, if you go to a car dealer and buy a car, you’re walking around with just the car. If you were to turn around to the dealer and say, “Okay, let’s go . . . you can drive me home now,” he’ll think you’re crazy. You bought the car! He doesn’t come with it!

With the Torah, it’s different. “Take Me” says Hashem. When a person learns, he doesn’t only get the Torah, but he also “takes” Hashem with it. My Rosh Yeshiva would say, though, that this is on condition. If one learns Torah for the intellectual sake, he isn’t going to have Hashem as part of his life. However, if he learns in order to properly do, THEN Hashem will be part of the deal.

He continued to explain (in a talk given to kollel members), that there are two types of people found in a kollel. Bnei Torah and Bnei HaRachov (‘people of the street’). Perhaps they are indistinguishable, they look alike, sound alike, and perhaps both learn 10 hours a day. But the one who internalizes his learning and allows it to change him, HE is the Ben Torah, and HE has Hashem.

A great example of this difference just occurred in my life.

In general, what people do is their business. I don’t get involved and try to tell people where they need improvement. However, six months ago, I broke that rule. We have Chareidi neighbors, and the eldest is a 14-year-old boy who’ve I already tagged as my future son-in-law. This year was his first year away in yeshiva. I started to notice when he came back for the first break, that he was coming late to minyan in the morning. If it was anybody else, I wouldn’t have said a thing. But, he IS my future son-in-law, and more importantly, he is somebody with potential to make something of himself. So, one day I pulled him aside and told him that I’m not allowing him to start slacking off and he needs to start being more punctual. He listened, and said, “You’re right. What time should I be there at?” I replied, “10 minutes before davening. Minimum.” Thankfully, to this day, every time he’s been back, he’s been on time to Shachris.

On the other hand . . .

This past week was a rough week for our 6:30 a.m. minyan. The rav was out of town, and the minyan was weaker than ever. Twice we had to wait to continue since people came so late, they were putting on their tefillin when we should have been starting the brachos of Shema. At one point last Friday morning, I had had enough, banged on the bima, quoted the Mishnah Brurah that spoke of the importance of coming to minyan on time and saying ALL of Pesukei D’zimra IN ORDER AND PROPERLY, and finished with, “Listen, I’m not your Moshgiach (spiritual advisor), and I couldn't care less what you do . . . but there are four (FOUR?!) people who come to this minyan and are ready on time regularly, and it’s not fair to us that we have to wait for you.”

Somebody, who knows more than I and shouldn’t be asking such questions, asked me after davening to show him the halacha. He said it, smiled, and said, “This is talking about the importance of not skipping parts, not necessarily about the MINYAN starting on time” (You can see where we’re going with this guy). After Shabbos, he made another quip (and believe it or not, he IS a nice guy), about whether I’m going to bring any more halachos in the morning. I told him that there is a very scary Gemara that deals exactly with this issue in Brachos. He asked me to show him, and I told him that I will have the source the next morning.

The next morning came, and I showed him where the gemara was (Brachos 6b, by the way) along with the Maharshal and the Meiri on that particular gemara. Simply put, the gemara says that Hashem gets angry at a minyan when He comes on time, yet the members of the minyan itself, do not. The Maharshal adds that even if they have nine people, Hashem gets angry. And the Meiri adds that their behavior shows that they are very distanced from “Love of Hashem.” I underlined that for him, and gave it to him on Sunday morning. He took it and thanked me.

He still continues to show up late.

Two people. If you were to look at them, you would think that this person, who’s a few years my senior, is going up the ladder, while the 14-year-old is just starting off, and we’ll see where he is going.

Just the opposite. The 14-year-old is going somewhere, while this other individual is stalled.

“Take Me,” says Hashem. Don’t take the Torah and use it as some intellectual wisdom. Use it to make real changes in your life, and you will gain Hashem Himself as part of the deal.

A lesson I’ve learned several times after moving away from the “Torah center” of Eretz Yisroel is always check the hechsharim of food produce . . . ESPECIALLY during shmittah.

As we know, during Shmittah, it is forbidden to work the land, and one must let it rest and make the fruits and vegetables open to the public to take for free.

There is something here called Heter Mechirah. Basically, it’s when a Jewish farmer “sells” his land to an Arab for two years (one year of Shmittah for the vegetables and the year after, when the fruits are Shmittah), and then afterwards the land goes back to him. During this time, he works the field as usual, and that’s that. Needless to say, it’s rather controversial (and no, it’s not comparable to selling one’s chametz to a non-Jew).

It’s a big, long story, but it goes back to the 1880s when the original charedi yeshuvim did not know what to do with Shmittah, since it was literally a life and death situation not to farm and grow food. The charedi rabbis were split on this issue. Some tried to make this heter mechira (“permission to use the land through sale”) because of the situation, and some maintained that it was impossible. Both sides included big people, and nobody was looking for any excuses not to keep Shmittah. Even those who believed it was possible to sell the land under such conditions believed that such a leniency was only temporary and should not be used in a permanent way. In fact, Rav Kook himself wrote, “Did I not repeatedly state that this rule is only temporary and only as need and when the necessity is great? Far be it from me to uproot such a great mitzvah such as the sanctity of Shmita without great necessity . . . that people would die, G-d forbid, from starvation without work or a means of sustenance . . .” (Igrot Hare’iyah II #555)

Either way, today the sale is still being used as a permanent thing. Some say so we don’t buy from and support Arabs (yet, they do by hiring them for work, shopping at stores that hire them, pay taxes that pay for Arab workers, buy homes that are built by them, buy vegetables from them during the other six years, pay taxes to the government that give money to them . . .). Some say it’s okay since many of the farmers are not religious and will be farming anyhow, so we should at least “minimize the damage” (I personally prefer this reasoning). Either way, the vast majority of chareidi and a good number of religious Zionist rabbis (don’t know the numbers from them) hold that heter mechirah today should not be relied upon. Therefore, like any other produce that is illegally farmed on Shmittah, it has the status of “not kosher,” just like a chicken and cheese sandwich. And since that is what my rabbeim hold, so do I.

That being, I bought a package of potato chips last Thursday for Shabbos. When I got home, I opened the package, ate two, and was closing it to put away . . . THEN I realized they were heter mechirah chips. Now, I’m in a bind. On one hand, for me they are treif. On the other hand, they have the sanctity of Shmittah, and I cannot do anything to ruin them. So, now I have to find a nice safe, out-of-the-way place to keep them for the next who knows how long until they spoil. After they spoil, they lose their kedushah, and I can throw them away. Nor can I sell them, since I cannot do business with Shmitah produce.

I was a bit annoyed at myself for not being more careful, until a certain talmid chacham told me that he bought heter mechira jam last Shmittah, and it’s still sitting in his apartment.

Only in Eretz Yisroel!“And they shall make for Me a Sanctuary” (Shemos 25:8)

This week’s parsha begins to describe the construction of the Mishkan and the Beis HaMikdash. The Gemara in Megillah 29a learns out from a pasuk in Yechezkel, that today’s shuls, yeshivas, and battei medreshot (places to learn Torah) have the status of a “small Beis HaMikdash.”

Rav Pincus said that this is not just a cute hint to the sanctity of the shul, but it is actually a halachic issue. The way we treat our shuls and yeshivos are a matter of Jewish law straight from the Torah (as opposed to rabbinic), not a matter of simply “what’s nice.”

The Chofetz Chaim writes in the name of Sefer Yareiyim that one is obligated to have fear of Heaven in the shul and not joke around, and this is a Torah obligation.

Therefore, one must be careful on how we treat our shuls and yeshivos. Our conversations should be self-monitored and our conduct should be befitting as if we were in the Beis HaMikdash itself.

One (and one’s children) should also be careful to throw away their garbage when they are done. One should return books to their places when they are done, so it looks clean and others can use them when they are needed. There are many things one can do to fulfill this particular mitzvah.

When the Jewish nation was in the desert, they donated gold and silver and used their talents to build the Mishkan. So too, throughout the generations, we have donated our money and talents to our shuls to keep them running smoothly and looking properly.

One need not go farther than their local Sphardi shul to see how to perform this mitzvah properly. For whatever reason, the Sphardim are very particular about this.

In fact, when we were living in Yerushaliyim, we lived on a street where there several “not-so-high-class” Sphardim. I remember one teenager (I named him “Elvis” in my head, since it looked like he was trying to copy him a bit), who was not the most religious person, if he was religious at all. The whole family was like this . . . not such a simple case.

Either way, most of the time, he spent outside “being cool” with his friends. However, I remember him once coming into shul for something, and he was literally a completely different person. No attitude was etched on his face, he was modest, he was quiet. It was interesting to see such a change.

May we all learn this lesson from such a person, the importance of guarding the sanctity of our shuls.

The Tal Law was recently ruled illegal by the Supreme Court. For those not familiar, the Tal Law is the law that gives yeshivah students the right to defer military service as long as they are sitting and learning Torah in the yeshivah. It ALSO is the framework for the Hesder program, which is used by the Religious Zionist camp, where you serve X amount of months and then learn for Y amount of months. This is coming off the heels of reports of ‘glass ceilings’ that growing amount of religious (-zionist) officers have been constantly encountering, the ruling of the new chief rabbi of the army that a commander’s orders over rules Torah, the fact that ‘ultra-orthodox-only’ battalions aren’t necessarily so, and the backing out of certain deals that the army has made with religious soldiers in regard to their service.

So… officially, everybody is required to join the army. Unofficially, the large amount of secular draft-dodging will continue, the Chareidim will continue to fight it, and the Religious Zionists? I’m not sure at this moment, but given the growing points of contention between their yeshivahs and the government over the years, and the growing amount of ‘anti-government’ sentiments since Gush Katif; I wouldn’t be surprised to see them fight as well. From what I’ve seen so far, I think we’ll be seeing more of a united front between the Chareidim and the serious members of the Religious Zionists.

“From where did they have shittim wood in the wilderness? R’ Tanchuma explained: Our forefather, Yaakov, foresaw through Divine inspiration that Israel was destined to build a Mishkan in the wilderness. He brought shittim trees to Egypt and planted them. He commanded his sons to take them with them when they would depart from Egypt” (Rashi)

I heard a small yet wonderful piece from Rav Pomerantz, who recently passed away after a brief fight with cancer. I had the honour of learning one on one with Rav Pomerantz for at least a year when I was living in Chicago and was close to him and his family. Chicago, in fact the whole Jewish world, took a big loss with his death. He was a person who always looked for the good in people and in situations. He never backed down from truth and would never compromise Torah principles, and at the same time he would make everybody comfortable around him and want to learn from him.

Anyhow… Rav Pomerantz quoted Rav Chaim Shmuelevitch who said that the more kedusha (holiness) that a person puts into something, the longer it lasts. That is why the Mishkan, which was built from these trees and all the instruments that were made by Moshe Rabbeinu and that generation, were never destroyed. They were ultimately hidden away before the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash. And who built the Beis HaMikdash? While Shlomo HaMelech oversaw it, much of the actual building was not done by Jewish hands. Hence it lacked the kedusha, which in turn, lacked immortality.

Anything that we do runs with this principle. When we create a family, the more kedusha we introduce to it, the longer-lasting that kedusha will be. So too is the opposite. Everything we create works this way, and that is why we should try our best to do things with as much kedusha as possible. With that, we will hopefully ‘live’ eternally.

This Shabbos is the first day of the month of Adar. This year we are lucky to have two months of Adar, followed by Nissan. That means we have a three month period where miracles are more likely to happen and where we can more easily come closer to Hashem.

Here in Israel, we had our first back-to-back-to back days of rain of the winter, which has been horrific, rain-wise. Hopefully, we can receive extra rain over the next two and half months before Pesach to make up for such terrible losses.

In the meantime, with Adar in the air, Eretz Yisroel starts to turn a little greener (hopefully) and you certainly feel the simchos of Purim and Pesach approaching.

Okay on to Torah!Throughout this week’s parsha, we go through the descriptions of all the instruments used in the Mishkan, the predecessor to the Beis HaMikdash.

Going through them, we notice that many of the heavier objects have poles attached to them so they can be carried in the desert. All of these instruments were to have their poles removed when not travelling, with the exception of the aron, which was considered the holiest object and contained the Ten Commandments inside.

Rav Shlomo Ganzfried gave an explanation of this based off of the famous Gemara in Sotah (35a) which says that while it appeared as though those who carried the aron were transporting it, in face a miracle occurred and the aron was actually carrying them.

Rav Ganfried explained that those who were 'carrying' the aron were representing those who support Torah learning. While it does indeed seem as if THEY are supporting Torah, the reality is that it is the Torah learning that is supporting them.

This is a big surprise to some. Who supports the supporters when they need supporting? Those who are being supported…

Interesting point to ponder.

One of the bigger donors of Ponevitch yeshiva once approached Rav Schach. He told the rav that he was considering selling off his business in order to sit and learn full time.

Rav Shach responded, "If you want to do this to enjoy the pleasure of learning in this world, by all means, sell your company. However, if you want to have it all in the World to Come, keep your business and continue to support the yeshiva, for your share in Torah is most likely greater than mine".

He continued and explained that when a person supports Torah learning, he will receive that Torah as a reward in the next world. If a person supports somebody with all his needs for one year, everything that person learned during that year, will not only be credited to the donor's 'account', but in the next world, the donor himself will know that same Torah. The more he supports, the more he receives.

The Torah is the center of Jewish life. Everybody is obligated to learn it as much as he is able, in order to bring themselves closer to Hashem. While most people are not cut out to sit and learn a full day, everybody is cut out to help support Torah in one way or another.

Unfortunately, we’ve been experiencing yet another year of drought. For most of the winter season, when it’s supposed to rain (since it doesn’t from Pesach until Sukkos), we’ve received nothing but clear, sunny days. For those in the US, you would be happy. But here, it causes water & food shortages and harms the economy.

Last erev Shabbos, I was walking outside with Rochel Leah when she felt a drop of rain. She yelled out, “GESHEM (rain)!!!! Yeah! I LOVE GESHEM!!!” I few heads turned and smiled.

Some things in this world are taking for granted, such as rain. Here, you really gain an appreciation for it. Here, you don’t hear the phrase, “Ech… it’s going to rain today”. G-d willing, it should continue to come down for the next month or so.

Okay, on to Torah!Rashi (Shemos 25:2) comments that the donations given to the Mishkan should be given for the sake of Hashem.

Rav Yehuda Leib Chasman gave an example of the difference that intent makes in an action.

“Let us say that we hear about a certain person that delivers milk to people each morning. He wants to ensure that every child in the community will be able to have wholesome milk for breakfast. He brings the milk to each person's home very early in the morning regardless of the weather. What would you say about such a person? You would surely consider him an outstanding example of the most elevated levels of kindness. But what if you then heard that he gets paid per bottle? He is no longer such a great, righteous person but a plain milk delivery man. Similarly in all that you do. When you do something with pure motivations, your action is elevated. Work on your thoughts to have positive motivations when you do positive acts.”

The Chazon Ish related that once Rav Izel Charif came with his father-in-law to the Rav of their city with the following dispute: The father-in-law said, "It is now ten years that I am supporting my son-in-law to enable him to study Torah without any distractions. Now I want him to become involved in business. But he refuses and continues to study Torah. If I could at least be assured that he is studying with the proper motivations, I would remain silent and continue to support him. How can I really know for sure?"

"What do you to say about the matter?" the Rav asked Rav Charif.

"I am not claiming that I already study Torah with the proper motivations," replied Rav Charif. "But it is my heartfelt desire to do so"

Perhaps we don’t always have the ideal intentions when we are doing mitzvos. That’s okay. As long as we at least strive to have proper intentions, that will serve in our merit.

My daughter and I celebrated Rosh Chodesh this month by getting a head start on Purim during breakfast. I had a glass of wine, Rochel Leah had a cup of grape juice, put on some Purim music and danced.

One of the nicest things about living in a frum community in Israel is that you can actually feel yourself move through the calendar. Each month has it’s ‘mood’ and spiritual power, and it’s much easier to sense here.

Since it’s a leap year, there are two months of Adar. Being that my wife’s birthday is in the second one, she’ll be turning ten this year. :)

We also know that Adar and Nissan are months of redemption. This year, G-d willing, may we see at least three months of redemption.

Okay, on to Torah! My chavrusa and I came across a very interesting Rabbenu Yona in Brachos yesterday that pertained to this week's parsha.

Rabbeinu Yona brings down the Gemara in Baba Basra 25b that notes that a person who wants to become "osher" or "rich", should daven so he is facing the north a little bit. This is because the Shulchan (table) of the Mishkan was on the northern side, and the Shulchan which contained bread, represents our physical sustenance.

If a person wishes to become more successful in his learning, he should turn a little to the south, since the Menorah was placed on the southern side, and the Menorah represents spiritual wisdom.

Rabbeinu Yona then continues and says that before a child is conceived, the parents should remember the Menorah and the Shulchan and daven that the child should be "successful in his Torah and be 'osher', in order not to be dependent on other people."

On top of that, it's important that his davening should be before the child is conceived rather than after. For when a child is conceived, an angel is appointed and declares the child's mazel, whether it will be naturally smart or dumb, rich or poor, successful or not, etc... While, it is true that a Jew can, through serious davening, raise himself over his mazel, it is still difficult. That is why the davening before the mazel is proclaimed, is more important than after.

It's interesting to note what a parent should daven for: that his child should be "successful in his learning and 'osher'". "Osher" is commonly translated as rich. However, Rabbeinu Yona describes it as "not to be dependent on other people". Not rich... just simply independent.

Many parents are focused on their children's jobs and measure their source of income as a gauge of success. I know of many people whose parents have tons of pride in their children who go out drink every night, have no meaning, directions, friends or family in their lives. Why? Because they are successful in their work! The child who is frum, raising a family in Torah, is part of a community ... they're okay I guess, but they're not something to be really proud of.

When a person wants their children to have success in life, they must first understand what the definition of “success” is.

I just invented a new game with my daughter. We call it the “Concussion Game”. It’s rather simple. I shake her. She laughs.

My wife hates it.

“Within the rings of the Aron shall remain the poles, they may never be removed from it” (Shemos 25:15)

This week’s parsha begins the description of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and all its utensils.

One of the main parts of the Mishkan is the Aron (or the Ark, as in the Raiders of the Lost…), which contained within it the original Ten Commandments. The Aron also had two carrying poles attached to it, and as we see in the pasuk above, those poles may never be removed from the Aron.

Rav Yitzchak Goldwasser offers an interesting thought on this law.

The poles represent the supporters of Torah. They can never separate themselves from the Torah which they support, represented by the Aron, itself. They are one and the same.

From this we learn two sides of one lesson.

The first is from the point of view of those who are the recipient of such support. They must remember that the Aron and the poles are one. One should not feel superior to the other. Hashem has granted them the privilege of being able to immerse themselves in Torah full-time. Any egotism can easily change that situation.

The other side is from the point of view of the benefactors. They too need to realize that they are not superior. In fact, they must continue to submit themselves to the rabbis of the community. The fact that they have the money does not mean that they have a right to dictate policy. Hashem gave them the money not to advance their power, but rather to use it to advance Torah.

When both sides, the benefactor and the recipient, see their goal as doing Hashem’s will, both will work together in a smooth manner and will enjoy the fruits of their successes. Have a great Shabbos!

Thank you to everybody for their emails concerning my upcoming move. I finally bought my ticket. I get to fly *insert German accent * Lufthansa, with a stopover in Frankfurt. I hate the idea of having to set foot in mainland Europe...but it could be worse...it could be France.

Just to make things fun, I will be learning at the same yeshiva as my long-time friend Zecharia "Lou" Reznick. Now, I know many of you who know Zecharia and I are probably wondering whether it is wise to have Zecharia and I in such close proximity to each other. I'm sure you're also wondering if it will cause the universe to collapse on itself. Well, if you happen to wake up one morning, look out the window, and notice the universe is no longer there, you now know why. Mmmm....Perhaps, I can even encourage him to write for Frum.org. We'll see...."Onyx stones and filling stones for setting [into] the eiphod and breastplate." (25:7)

This week's parsha deals with the building of the Mishkan (aka THE TABERNACLE...what a great word). Out of the thirteen different items mentioned to be brought for the building of the Mishkan, these stones were mentioned last. The Ohr HaChaim asks, why are these the last to be mentioned, when they were clearly the most expensive items on the list?

Rav Avraham Pam zt'l offers some insight into this question. The Gemara in Yoma (75b) states that these precious stones fell with the Mun, which we spoke of a couple of weeks ago. These stones were gathered up and were brought for the purpose of building the Mishkan. Rav Pam notes that perhaps this is the reason they were mentioned last. Nothing was done to obtain these stones; no work or sweat was put into them. They literally came from the sky. Therefore, in the eyes of Hashem, they were worth very little.

Further on, the Torah states, "When a person (nefesh) brings a Mincha (meal) offering to Hashem, his offering shall be of fine flour..." (Vayikra 2:1). The Gemara in Menachos says that the Korbon Mincha was the only offering in the Torah where the word Nefesh (literally, "soul") is used to describe a person. Why is this? It's because most people who end up bringing a Korbon Mincha were people who were poor and could not afford to bring bulls or rams. Therefore, they gave the only thing they were able to bring, flour. Yet, by the fact that they brought the little that they could, the Torah considers as if they gave their own soul.

Rav Pam notes an interesting phenomenon he witnessed throughout his life. If you asked a yeshiva guy what his favourite mesechta (tractate) in Gemara was, chances are he will tell you the one he spent the most time on. He also noticed that it was always the guys of average intelligence, the ones who struggled the hardest, who were the ones who made the deepest connections with the Torah they learned. Why did he often see such cases? Rav Pam answers that the more a person invests himself in something, the more that something becomes of him. The more a person invests in his learning and mitzvah observance, the more those mitzvos will be part of him. Have a great Shabbos!

What a fun place London is! I have a small problem whenever I’m here. Due to the English blood pumping through my veins, I sometimes start switching over to a pseudo-English accent whenever I’m around them. Thankfully, people don’t notice it around here. Unfortunately, there’s a Scotsman in my shiur in the morning. Needless to say, when I was discussing a piece of Gemara with him, I started to slip into a Scottish accent. Not good. You know how the Scottish are… Thankfully, I don’t think he noticed.

On a more serious note, condolences to Rob Williger on the loss of his grandfather. I think it behooves us to learn in his memory. His name is Yacov Lazer ben Gela.

Now for a small introduction for those who have absolutely no idea what's flying. When we were in the desert, we were commanded to build what is commonly referred to as, The Tabernacle. Being that I truly hate using that word, we're going to refer to it as The Mishkan. This infrastructure, if you will, contained several elements. One of those elements was the Menorah, which we all know about. Another one was a table, used to house special "Mishkan" bread. Both of these were major components of the Mishkan, and are dealt with in great detail throughout the Written Torah and Talmud.

"You shall place the Table outside the Partition, and the Menorah opposite the Table on the south side of the Mishkan, and the Table you shall place on the north side." (26:35)

Interesting way to describe where to properly place the Table. Instead of saying, "place the Table outside the Partition, place the Menorah opposite the Table, and by the way, the Table goes on the north side." Why didn't it simply say, "Place the Table outside the Partition on the north side of the Mishkan, and place the Menorah opposite it?" Why did the placing of the Table intermingle with the placing of the Menorah?

There's a Gemara (Baba Basra 25b) which says, "Says Rebbe Yitzchok, 'One who seeks wisdom should face south, and one who seeks wealth should face north.'" Now, this is quite deep and kabalistic, and if I explained the deepness of it to all of you, you would probably combust. So I won't. Either way, keep note of what means what.

There's another little Mishna in Avos (for all you baalei tshuva out there, 3:21) "Rebbe Elazar says, 'Without Torah, there is no derech eretz (work, job); without derech eretz, there is no Torah.'"

Everybody following? The reason the placing of the Table is so intertwined with the placing of the Menorah is because what they represent, Wealth and Wisdom, respectively, are intertwined with one another.

First the pasuk tells us approximately where the Table (wealth) should be placed, then by using the Menorah (wisdom) as a guide, it specifically tells us where that Table should be. The meaning is quite clear. Our ability to support ourselves is certainly a great priority in our lives. As the Mishna in Avos says, without it, we cannot have Torah. But our ability to support ourselves is also in Hashem's hands. Without the direction from Torah (The Menorah), we are simply unable to direct ourselves successfully in terms of earning a living (The Table). Have a great Shabbos!

This week's parsha introduces the Mishkan (or the "Tabernacle" as many like to call it. What the heck is a Tabernacle...I have no clue). The Mishkan was the portable version of the Beis Hamikdash which the Jews used in the desert. The Midrash says that when Moshe was commanded to build the Mishkan, he asked Hashem, "How can a man make a house for G-d if even the heavens cannot contain You?" Good question, no? Hashem replied, "I do not ask them to make anything commensurate with My capacity. I ask of them only that they build in accordance with their own capacity." Similarly, Moshe later asked, "If all the animals in the world were assembled would that then be considered a fitting enough sacrifice to You?" To which Hashem responded, "It is not as you think, for Me one lamb a day will suffice, for the rich man an ox and for the poor man a sheep. But if a rich man brings that which is fitting for a poor man to offer, it is a desecration."

Rav Moshe Swift claims that a lesson to be learned from this parsha can be summed up by Hashem's reply, "in accordance with their own capacity." Here we learn a very valuable lesson in life. It's impossible to build a home for Hashem or for there to be enough sacrifices that could possibly honour Him, yet this is not what we are commanded to do. We are commanded to use our individual strengths and talents to build "a house for Hashem." We are not commanded to do mitzvos like the guy next to us. We are to use our unique abilities to bring holiness in this world.

But as it pointed out, if we do not use our talents to the fullest potential, like a rich man bringing a sacrifice worthy of a poor man, THEN we have failed to utilize ourselves properly. Whenever we perform mitzvos, we should take a serious look into ourselves to see how we can bring out the best in ourselves to properly fulfill the word of Torah. Have a great Shabbos!

About the Author

Michael Winner

Avreich - Web Developer - Father - Tired

Michael Winner is a full-time member of a kollel in northern Israel, works at night as a web-developer, is a father of five, and can often be found on the floor where he must have passed out.